Leave It and Mean It

There’s a moment—every handler feels it—when your puppy locks onto something they shouldn’t. A piece of food dropped on the ground, a sock left too close to the edge of the couch, a crumpled tissue in the grass. You see it happen, but there’s a hesitation.

Will they go for it?

Sometimes they pause, but more often, it’s like watching slow-motion mischief. You call out “Leave it,” but the words feel like background noise compared to whatever treasure they’ve found. And before you can step in, they’re already trotting away, prize in mouth.

It’s easy to think they aren’t listening. But it’s not about obedience—it’s about decision-making in the moment.

Puppies don’t fail to leave things alone because they’re being defiant. They go for it because the pull of now is stronger than the promise of later.

“Leave it” sounds simple. But in practice, it’s not a cue—it’s a muscle. One that takes longer to develop than we realize.

Puppies understand the word quickly. You say it, and they respond…when nothing too exciting is at stake. But add movement, food, or curiosity, and suddenly, the meaning fades. It’s not that they forgot—it’s that impulse took over.

Most of the time, we notice this too late.

By the time “leave it” comes out of your mouth, they’re already mid-snatch.

But the power of “leave it” isn’t in stopping them once they’ve locked in. It’s in catching the glance—the flicker of interest before action. That moment when they’re thinking about it, but haven’t yet decided.

The thing is, most handlers don’t see that flicker. It happens too fast. A half-second glance at the ground, a quick sniff, and it’s over.

That’s where impulse control begins—before the temptation becomes action.

The trick isn’t shouting “leave it” louder or pulling them away faster. It’s noticing the exact moment they choose not to go for it.

That shift can feel subtle. Almost unnoticeable at first. Maybe their head tilts but they don’t step forward, or they flick their eyes to you instead of what’s on the ground. It’s not flashy, but that pause? That’s gold.

It’s the difference between a puppy that hesitates because they’ve been taught to think… and one that rushes ahead because they’ve learned the handler will handle it.

Sometimes, you won’t even realize the shift happened. One day, the sock falls, and instead of lunging for it, they just…watch.

Not because they can’t take it. But because they didn’t have to.

That’s the heart of impulse control. It’s not about holding them back—it’s about teaching them they don’t need to grab every opportunity.

And the real beauty? It starts to show up everywhere else. The way they stop themselves from jumping up, or how they pause before walking through a door. Those small moments thread themselves into everything they do.

Suddenly, “leave it” isn’t a cue anymore. It’s just how they move through the world.